Spectral and Microwave Studies of the Decay of a Highly Ionized Hydrogen Plasma

Abstract

The decay of an almost fully ionized hydrogen plasma immersed in a magnetic field of 1 tesla has been investigated spectroscopically and with microwave interferometers at 35 and 120 GHz. It has been found that the plasma decays approximately exponentially in time and that the density-temperature relations in the contracting central column are adequately described in terms of the theoretical predictions of Bates, Kingston, and McWhirter down to densities of about 1 X 1019 m-3 and temperatures of 2000oK. Competing processes of axial and transverse diffusion have been shown to play no significant part in the decay of this plasma.